We strive to touch the heart, mind, and soul of every congregant at every age, creating an environment in which our members experience a full Jewish life through celebration, study, worship and tikkun olam, modeling and transmitting these values to our children. We are steadfast in our efforts to cultivate an open and caring atmosphere in which all members are actively involved in the life of the congregation, the State of Israel, and the local, national and international Jewish communities. Furthermore, at Beth Elohim, we are dedicated to building bridges of understanding with other faith communities through communication, study, and a respectful exchange of thoughts and ideas.

 

 

Vision Statement 

Our founders, a small but determined group, set out to build a center for Jewish community in the town of Wellesley, Massachusetts. True to their vision, Temple Beth Elohim thrives as a warm, welcoming, caring, dynamic congregation. It is incumbent upon us as we grow and evolve, to continue to hear the voices of our past so that the thread of continuity will not be broken.

 

Today, we are a diverse population of participating adults and children whose prayer, programming and community needs are vast and varied. At Beth Elohim, we honor and value the uniqueness of every Jewish journey and try to provide many points of entry and opportunities for connection. Torah (Learning) Avodah (prayer) and Gemilut Chasadim (acts of loving kindness) remain our most precious gateways to spiritual sustenance.

 

Each gateway is a valued and respected path leading to our larger vision of synagogue transformation: the evolution of our synagogue as a spiritual/sacred home, a home founded on and driven by Jewish values.

 

Our vision is of a community like no other in your life.

 

We dream of a warm, caring and inclusive community dedicated to nurturing a vibrant spiritual Jewish life. We strive to use our unique gifts and offerings to help develop our synagogue community as a place of discovery and meaning,

*Where Torah learning is alive, lived, and embraced by lifelong learners, woven into the very fabric of our culture, informing every action and decision and expressed through our worship, meetings, conversation, and social action

*Where we demonstrate our commitment to excellence and innovation, with ongoing self-reflection and evaluation, and through an integration of formal and informal multi-generational and multi-sensory learning

*Where we are committed to attracting and retaining world-class clergy and professionals and are supportive of their ongoing learning and development

*Where you will find a strong partnership of lay and professional leaders, and actively participating members

*Where Jewish values are learned and lived in all aspects of synagogue life, evident in the way we speak with and care for one another

*Where prayer is diverse and meaningful, rich with music and song, inspiring continual spiritual growth and reaching all generations

*Where you will find a community to support you in your times of need, and to celebrate with you in your times of joy

*Where you will feel a connection to Israel as home and family, especially through our continually deepening relationship with our two sister congregations in Haifa

*Where you feel a sense of belonging as you are warmly greeted at a Shabbat service, or remembered by name by fellow congregants and clergy

*Where you tell stories and share yourself and are welcomed and embraced

*Where you are surrounded by blessing and

* Where you are never alone

 

Today, at Beth Elohim, we stand at the crossroads of opportunity and challenge. Our opportunity is to secure the future of Temple Beth Elohim as a vibrant, dynamic center for Jewish life committed to Jewish learning and values. We protect that future by investing in those values that shape and guide us as we strive to evolve as a sacred community.

 

Our challenge is to expand our human and financial infrastructure to ensure the future strength and health of our congregation for generations to come, to guarantee that we will always be able to welcome members regardless of financial capacity. Our further challenge is to design a physical space that will meet the many needs and desires of a diverse population and, at the same time, express and enhance our values as a caring, learning, intimate community.

 

Above all, we are and will continue to be a place to discover why being Jewish really matters, a place to deepen your commitment to a Jewish way of being, and a place to help you transmit our vibrant tradition to your children.

 

As we look to the future, we are deeply grateful to our founders who planted well, enabling us to reap today’s bountiful harvest. Today it is our obligation to plant our seeds to ensure hearty growth and a lush field for our children, that their harvest too, shall be bountiful.